Smith+Nephew: A handheld options for robotic ortho surgery
The Cori surgical system [Image courtesy of Smith+Nephew]
Cleared by FDA and available for both total and unicompartmental knee arthroplasty, the handheld Cori robotics platform is meant to be faster than S+N’s previous Navio system. In addition to Cori, the British medtech giant also launched its Real Intelligence suite of digital surgery solutions that are meant to improve patient engagement, pre-operative planning, digital and robotic surgery, post-operative assessment and outcomes measurement.
The Cori surgical system represents next-generation robotics, according to Dr. Jimmy Chow, an orthopedic surgeon at the Orthopedic Institute of the West.
“Its efficient handheld form factor is ideal for surgery centers, which is where the market is moving, and it just erases away bone with the new bone milling technique,” Chow said in a Smith+Nephew news release last fall. “The smart, intuitive software helps place and size the implant as well as balance gaps based on patient-specific anatomy and disease state.”
The new Cori system is small and portable, making it a good fit for ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) and outpatient surgery. Its modular design means that S+N could scale Cori to handle other types of orthopedic surgeries.
“The introduction of the Cori surgical system’s handheld robotics, patient engagement tools and outcomes measurement are the very first steps in a long-term strategy to advance orthopedics using enabling technology,” said Skip Kiil, global president of orthopedics at Smith+Nephew.
In an interview last fall, S+N director of robotics program management Sara Schneider told MDO that the company is also looking at additional attachments and accessories to improve user experience with Cori, and there’s the prospect from an R&D standpoint of packing in more artificial intelligence capabilities down the road.
“There’s no shortage of work, and we’re excited about what’s to come,” Schneider said.
